Temples always attract a large crowd and with them the hawkers too throng the place of worship. An ideal example of how these hawkers takeover the footpath is the one near Ragigudda Temple at Jayanagar 9th block. Footpaths are a rarity here as they are often used for various purposes.
"The footpaths in the area are occupied by flower vendors who sit here from morning 5 am to evening 8 pm. Then we have the coconut and fruit vendors who park themselves with their pushcarts. As you walk by, you can see book stalls, plastic toys for sale, clothes, ceramic items, etc. The footpaths are seen in vibrant colours with hawkers selling puffed rice and snacks. All such items are necessary to buy, if you want to enter the temple. I feel, the temple should allow sale of flowers and fruits and other pooja articles in their premises," says Sai Karthik, who visits the temple everyday.
It is also observed that the temple premises have encroached the footpath. "The railings attached to the footpath have been present for years now. It has always come handy during Saturdays and other festival days when people throng the place. The temple is always crowded and people have to wait for long hours and so this queue system was put in place on one side of the footpath," explains Krishnaraj, a passerby.
Corporator N Chandrashekar Raju of ward number 177 says, "There is more of a sentiment to this area because of the temple, which exists from 30 to 40 years. I understand that these footpaths are made for pedestrians. Even I have personally visited and made sure that the footpath is made free from the hawkers. But the problem is that they keep coming back. Now that the election is over, we will take some stringent action."